“If they must, let them fight it out.”
Esau grinned, crossing his arms, watching our Order fall apart with unfettered rage. Farasee Esau spoke on as if he relished in this chaos. As if he lived for it.
“Each of you have initials inscribed on the desk and seat next to you. That seat belongs to your individual partner from the Azarath Legion. And yes, this also means they are now your temple-mate.”
I grew unnaturally still. Sound seemed far away as I kept staring at the Fallenspawn in the posh suit, who in turn stared at me. His black wings were tucked into his spine, fading at their tips into the deepest shades of emerald that almost matched his bright eyes. He floated in front of Xadari Legion like a statue, entirely frozen.
“Every Legionnaire has a thorn embedded in their palms…except for the Mortents. Theirs are on their bodies from their neck down to their hands.” Esau spoke over the cacophony, giving up on quieting us down. “Raise your thorns Ascendants! The angel it calls to is the angel you are temple-mated to for the entirety of your Ascension. Break your bond before then and forfeit your Ascension!”
Not a single Ascendant raised their thorns. The Legionnaires snorted, rolling their eyes. They were a sea of black opposite our sea of gold.
They were a stain.
They didnotbelong here.
To my dismay, our thorns began rising on their own. I watched mine lift itself, spinning around. The stupid thing began making its way through the mayhem. Every Ascendants thorn was now traveling through the Sanctuary, finding its match. My stomach rolled. All around me anger exploded like bombs, then faded to silence, as the angels accepted their fates. The Sanctuary got quieter and quieter until…
“Ascendant Safah Eloise Anathelle.”
I glared at the jade-eyed demon refusing to turn to Farasee Esau. My hearts raced. I tried to calm down. But I couldn’t. Everything in me screamed for vengeance. Forviolence.
“What kind of living Hèls have we been conned into,” Ellabeth whispered. “There is no burning way this is actually happening.”
“Rot,” Daelun and Omarion hissed at the same time.
I blinked away starlight from my vision. One moment, the Fallenspawn was floating down below close to the dais. The next, the demon was floating in front of me like an immovable statue, glowering at me with a hatred that made my skin burn. Farasee Esau spoke loud for the entire Sanctuary to hear as starfire erupted in my blood.
“Ascendant Safah, meet your new temple-mate, Quazar Valoryen.” A pause. “The Fallen Prince.”
Chapter 13
Iglared at the Fallen Prince. Chiseled jawline. Thick black hair. Full lips. Emerald eyes. A gloriously handsome face that could rival the beauty of a newborn star.
The reason Manmi was dead.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He glowered at me.
Suspenseful silence charged the air of the Sanctuary.
The Prince blinked. Leaned down. Took a sniff, wrinkling his nose at me, as if he smelled something foul.
“Soyouare the fifi I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of hearing so much about.”
His eyes were crystal pools of jade thrashing with a shadowy storm. There was an annoyingly satisfying bass that rumbled through my chest at the baritone of his voice.
I slowly sat down and began tapping my nails on the glass of the desk. I took a deep, long breath, giving him a once over, completely disgusted at his sight. I snorted, unimpressed with the Prince of the Hèls.
“Pale-faced demon,” I seethed, sucking my teeth. “Just like your ash-rotting Papi.” I tilted my head. “You shouldn’t be here, Cursed One. A bottomless grave suits you better.”
Quazar bared his teeth, thrust out his wings, and shoved them beneath my desk, then beneath my chair. After, he proceeded to lift the deskandchair, and flip them over with me in it.
“Safah!” Ellabeth screamed, as gasps broke out among the Ascendants.
As the desk flipped, Ifyused. In a blink, my powers erupted, turning me into a starry hurricane. I had two swords of starfire in my hands by the time the desk crashed onto the floor.
I lunged for the Prince with lightning speed. The tip of the starry blade caught him in the wing, slicing across his talon. He snarled, flinching back.
